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Runaway Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich hosts Gladbach as it targets treble

BERLIN (AP) — With another German title almost certain, Bayern Munich is targeting a Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League treble – along with a few records.

Bayern defeated closest rival Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in the Bundesliga last weekend and can go 14 points clear before the rest of the 25th round with a win at home over Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday.

The Bavarian powerhouse then faces Italian team Atalanta away in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday. The return game in Munich is the following week.

Bayern plays Bayer Leverkusen away in the semifinals of the German Cup in April.

Fans are dreaming of a three-peat of the league, cup and Champions League treble that Bayern won under Jupp Heynckes in 2013.

Under Vincent Kompany this season, the team has played 37 games, winning 32, losing two – to Arsenal and Augsburg – while drawing three.

The front three of Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Díaz have chipped in 53 goals in the Bundesliga so far and could overtake Gerd Müller, Uli Hoeneß and Franz Roth (65 for Bayern in 1971-72) as the most prolific trio in Bundesliga history.

Bayern is also on target – with 88 goals so far – to break the record for goals in a season, Bayern’s 101 in 1971-72.

Nine rounds remain after this weekend.

Key matchups

The battle for Champions League qualification is intensifying with four teams — Hoffenheim, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen — fighting for the last two places to qualify for Europe’s premier competition.

Hoffenheim and Stuttgart currently have those places with 46 points, third and fourth respectively on goal difference, while Leipzig follows on 44, and Leverkusen is a further point behind in sixth.

All four are playing on Saturday, with Hoffenheim visiting last-placed Heidenheim, Leipzig hosting Augsburg, Leverkusen visiting Freiburg and Stuttgart traveling to Mainz.

Relegation is also heating up after Wolfsburg dropped into an automatic relegation place last weekend. The Volkswagen-backed club, which hasn’t won any of its last seven games, hosts Hamburger SV on Saturday.

Fellow strugglers St. Pauli and Werder Bremen play Eintracht Frankfurt (at home) and Union Berlin (away), respectively, on Sunday.

Players to watch

If Leipzig does clinch a Champions League place, it will likely be thanks to Yan Diomande. The Ivory Coast teenager has nine goals this season and scored the winner against Hamburg last weekend.

Who is out?

Kane, who scored twice or more in each of his last four Bundesliga games, is out with a calf injury. It hurts his bid to break Robert Lewandowski’s season record of 41 goals in 2020-21. Kane has 30 from 24 rounds but won’t be able to add to his tally on Friday.

Dortmund visits Cologne on Saturday and will be without captain Emre Can for the rest of the season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the loss to Bayern last weekend.

Off the field

Stadium safety and the continued use of banned pyrotechnics are set to become issues again after Rot-Weiss Essen goalkeeper Felix Wienand was hospitalized on Wednesday with injuries from a firecracker that was thrown from the stands in a third-division game against Waldhof Mannheim.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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